The flea treatments of our pets would pose a danger to the family and especially to children, Liberation french newspaper revealed this weekend. In fact, they contain very toxic substances, such as permethrin, tetramethrin and fipronil.

These products are dangerous for animals : Permethrin is deadly for cats, the daily recalls. Fipronil, also known as « bee killer », was at the heart of the contaminated UE egg crisis last summer.

The National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) revealed in a report that permethrin and tetramethrin could lead to a « significant decline » in the cognitive performance of children under 6 years of age. That’s to say a decrease in the ability to communicate, perceive the environment or to remember an event.

For Fipronil, this product has been classified as a carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency. A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease states that this substance causes changes in the brain of rats characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

By caressing their pets treated for fleas, children can end up with pesticides on their hands. Pesticides that are banned in agriculture because of their dangerousness.

« We are nevertheless entitled to ask questions about these products, » says veterinarian Laetitia Barlerin, while ensuring that the sprays and necklaces containing the incriminated molecules are now little sold by veterinarians. « We prefer to turn to other antiparasitic drugs, for example in the form of tablets, which are composed of new molecules that have been tested recently, as much for their efficacy as for their safety, and whose marketing has been the subject of drastic studies and benefits from ‘regular monitoring by the Veterinary Medicines Agency,’ says the practitioner.

There is a wide range of antiparasitic solutions to treat our animals. Tablets, necklaces, pipettes … so many products available – for some – on veterinary prescription ! « The teachers need to understand that treating pests isn’t innocent. It’s necessary to address your practitioner who will advise you the best according to your animal, it age, its species, its way of life, his environment (in particular the children) and the risks « , recalls L. Barlerin. In other words, we won’t treat in the same way an animal that lives in town in a family that a cat who lives in the countryside or on the contrary, never leaves home.